Warehouse Safety: Ensuring a Secure and Healthy Work Environment
Although warehousing services are often necessary when your business has inventory that needs storage, warehouses can potentially be dangerous places. Because of this, strong warehouse safety practices need to be in place to create a healthy work environment.
When heavy equipment and machinery are operated in a warehouse the potential for serious hazards is high. To avoid safety risks, it is vital to follow standard safety practices.
By paying careful attention to set rules and regulations and maintaining a constant mindfulness of the potential risks, you are much less likely to suffer injuries or worse.
In addition, it helps to create safety plans for dealing with potential emergencies, to minimize their negative impacts. There are often many employees working in warehouses at all times, so having safety plans in place is necessary for the good of everyone.
Important Factors for Maintaining Warehouse Safety
It is crucial to be aware of all the potential hazards that exist in a warehouse. Why? Because the measures necessary to maintain safety will vary from one hazard to another.
The following are some of the biggest possible dangers within a warehouse and some of the ways that you can maintain safety in these areas:
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Forklift warehouse safety practices
Rarely do you come across a warehouse where forklifts are not used. They are typically an essential piece of warehouse equipment. However, forklifts can also be quite dangerous to operators and other workers, especially if improperly handled.
To avoid such dangers, ensure that forklift operators have completed certified training and regular refresher training. In addition, perform daily inspections of the forklifts to ensure they are in working order. The last thing you want is to have any functional issues that could contribute to an accident.
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Dock safety practices
Warehouses have loading docks to accept the various items that will be stored within them.
Unfortunately, cases of a worker being pinned between a forklift and the loading dock are all too real. This is one of the worst types of accidents that you can experience in a warehouse. To avoid such misfortunes, forklift operators should always be extra attentive and drive slower on dock plates.
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Conveyor safety practices
Another type of equipment often used in warehouses is the conveyor system. This type of equipment can pose serious risks to workers due to all the moving parts. Add to this, the danger of being struck by falling objects from an overhead system.
To avoid these accidents, ensure that proper safeguarding equipment is used to prevent a worker’s clothing, hair, or other body parts from getting entangled in the equipment. Many of these accidents also take place when the equipment is being maintained or repaired. It is very important to follow adequate lockout tag-out procedures during these times.
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Material storage warehouse safety practices
One of the biggest elements of operating a warehouse is the stacking and loading of materials. However, when this is done improperly, it can lead to slip, trip, and fall hazards for workers. Thus, it is necessary to keep the aisles and passageways of warehouses clear and in good condition to prevent such risks.
Place loads evenly, with heavy items on the bottom to maintain proper safe storage practices.
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Manual lifting safety practices
Warehouse workers can face injuries due to incorrect lifting techniques as they move items or load them onto or off shelves. There are proper warehouse safety procedures in place for activities involving lifting. When the proper liftin techniques are not followed, a worker can suffer from musculoskeletal disorders.
When carrying or moving loads, warehouse workers must be trained to use the correct ergonomic postures. They should be able to get assistance from coworkers when there are heavier loads that need to be manually moved.
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Hazardous chemicals safety practices
Sometimes, hazardous chemicals need to be stored at a warehouse facility. In such cases, it is crucial for adequate safety inspection, handling, and storage measures to be in place to prevent dangerous situations from arising.
The warehouse’s standards for dealing with such chemicals should be well-known by all employees through regular training. Employees who are in direct contact with the chemicals or their storage containers must be provided the proper PPE equipment.
Finally, all SDS sheets must be made available and current to best understand the hazardous materials’ safety requirements. SDS sheets explained
How Wills Transfer Ltd. Handles Warehouse Safety
If you are seeking warehousing services and prefer to work with a company that values safety, Wills Transfer Limited always prioritizes warehouse safety. During the more than 75 years that we have operated, providing warehousing and logistics services to our customers, we have developed and refined a comprehensive set of safety practices that we implement in all our warehouses.
We fully understand and appreciate that maintaining the health and safety of our workers is a vital part of our operation, as it allows us to maintain our productive and high-quality work.
We always use safety equipment, have clearly labeled designated hazardous zones, and enforce safe lifting techniques in all our warehouses.
For more information about the various health and safety practices we implement, or to learn more about our different warehousing services, call Wills Transfer Limited at 613-704-7549 or contact us here
